AMT .45 Backup rises from the ashes - now available again!

This is a discussion on AMT .45 Backup rises from the ashes - now available again! within the Defensive Carry Guns forums, part of the Defensive Carry Discussions category; This Roto-Graver slide marking really looks prototypeishly <~~(to coin a new word) hokey.
They really need to invest in a roll marking die or a ...

Well, I am a guy that always wanted a DAO Seecamp Custom Conversion on a chopped 1911 & I missed the boat on having one done way back when Larry Seecamp offered to do one up for me. What a boo boo that was that I made - considering what $$$ they are fetching these days.
So...I would consider one of these but, (for sure) not an early production piece.

Out of 30+ handguns I've owned, the AMT Backup (in .380) was one of only three true POS guns I've had. Granted, that was a .380, and was about 30 years ago, but it would take a lot of convincing, and a lot of very good reviews, to get me to ever consider another AMT.

I bought one of those (.380) about 30 years ago too, saw a used one at a recent gun show for about $175ish. IIRC mine always fired dependably. I still have it, but don't carry it anymore. I've heard plenty of negative things about them, and don't doubt it, their low used price says they aren't in demand. I will say this about them, 30 years ago it was difficult to find a pistol that small that shot a .380, they were some of the few that were trying.

Retired USAF E-8. Curmudgeon at large.Lighten up and enjoy life because:Paranoia strikes deep, into your life it will creep. It starts when you're always afraid... Buffalo Springfield - For What It's Worth

When I saw this thread title I thought of the first girl I ever kissed, and she got away from me many long years ago, never to be seen again. Her name was Sherry. She was a true redhead, and she was beautiful. I remember being so determined to kiss her. It happened in the cafeteria line. She was five, and so was I. We played in Kindergarten every day. She never came back after summer break. I was devastated.

My friend has one that he bought years ago. I hope they have improved the trigger pull on the newer ones. The trigger on his makes a Kel-Tec P-11 feel like a custom 1911 with a "trigger job". I have never shot a pistol with such a strong trigger pull. One thing for sure you can't say you "accidentally" pulled the trigger.

3 weeks ago i ordered a high standard/amt backup in 45 acp. it was rather costly and came in a brown cardboard box with the classic amt cresent moon logo. there were no papers or manuals with it. i was trying to locate an original which i could not find in person, so i broke down and just got a new one.

the backup immediately gave me problems. ejecting unfired rounds etc. so the gunsmith tweaked the magazine for me since high standard refused to send a new one or replace it. also, the recoil spring is too short causing the guide rod to rattle around. i fixed that after hours of banging on the flange to rough it up so the guide rod stays in place with the barrel.

after spending numerous outtings with the amt backup, i finally got it to feed reliable. the gun was designed to be fired one handed. it needs the movement in order to chamber the following rounds correctly. holding it too firmly with both arms will not allow it to do so. as a result, jam after jam.

the trigger has roughly a 20+ lbs pull. if squeezed, you'll never get it to fire. you have to pull it quickly and hard. for as small as it is, it's pretty accurate. remington fmj and winchester hp work great. s&b primars are too hard for the amt backup.

one final thing i'd like to mention. these are NOT new manufactured guns. they are simply left over ones that were produced by galena industries. all they did was sand the sides of the slides and put a houston texas stamp on it. that's why the sides are polished and the rest still have the galena bead blast finish. the edges are VERY sharp on the slide.

overall, i love my amt backup. if anyone buys one new, i can promise you it may take some work and tinkering before it does what it's supposed to do. most importantly, it has to be fired with the technique in mind that it was designed with - shooting one handed. i'll be happy to post pics if anyone would like.

Last edited by zwanboy104; March 5th, 2011 at 02:20 AM.
Reason: spelling

3 weeks ago i ordered a high standard/amt backup in 45 acp. it was rather costly and came in a brown cardboard box with the classic amt cresent moon logo. there were no papers or manuals with it. i was trying to locate an original which i could not find in person, so i broke down and just got a new one.

the backup immediately gave me problems. ejecting unfired rounds etc. so the gunsmith tweaked the magazine for me since high standard refused to send a new one or replace it. also, the recoil spring is too short causing the guide rod to rattle around. i fixed that after hours of banging on the flange to rough it up so the guide rod stays in place with the barrel.

after spending numerous outtings with the amt backup, i finally got it to feed reliable. the gun was designed to be fired one handed. it needs the movement in order to chamber the following rounds correctly. holding it too firmly with both arms will not allow it to do so. as a result, jam after jam.

the trigger has roughly a 20+ lbs pull. if squeezed, you'll never get it to fire. you have to pull it quickly and hard. for as small as it is, it's pretty accurate. remington fmj and winchester hp work great. s&b primars are too hard for the amt backup.

one final thing i'd like to mention. these are NOT new manufactured guns. they are simply left over ones that were produced by galena industries. all they did was sand the sides of the slides and put a houston texas stamp on it. that's why the sides are polished and the rest still have the galena bead blast finish. the edges are VERY sharp on the slide.

overall, i love my amt backup. if anyone buys one new, i can promise you it may take some work and tinkering before it does what it's supposed to do. most importantly, it has to be fired with the technique in mind that it was designed with - shooting one handed. i'll be happy to post pics if anyone would like.

Thanks for the info. I will not waste my time or energy pursuing this any further.